I SAID This Would Happen!

by pessimist

Back a few weeks worth of columns, I posited that certain re-deployment moves of US troops in Korea were going to lead to some being transferred to Iraq.

For their sakes, I hate being right!

Exit of U.S. Troops Means Change in Korea

The Pentagon is moving 3,600 U.S. soldiers from bases in South Korea to the conflict in Iraq this summer, possibly marking a permanent reduction in the size of the American military force that has helped deter war on the Korean Peninsula for the past half-century.

Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division will rotate into Iraq on one-year tours, senior Pentagon officials said Monday, confirming an announcement made earlier in Seoul. A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Flex Plexico, said the decision to move them to Iraq was made "at the highest levels of the U.S. government."

Flex Plexico????????

The move reflects not only the Army's difficulty in finding enough soldiers for the next rotation of forces into Iraq later this year but also Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's push for greater flexibility in deploying troops based anywhere in the world, including the Korean peninsula.

Rumsfeld said in a speech to the Heritage Foundation on Monday that he remains hopeful that passage of a new United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq's political transition will lead more countries to consider sending troops to help U.S. forces stabilize Iraq.

"If we can get another U.N. resolution, my guess is there will be still additional countries that will be willing to put forces in there, and that relieves the stress on our force and our coalition partners," he said.

Way to go, Dumb Donald! check out how you relieved the stress on our foreign partners:

Italy, Poland Press for Quick Iraq Handoff

Italy and Poland, two major European allies in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, pressed on Tuesday for a prompt handover of power to a government that fully represents the Iraqi people.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Ukraine will consider withdrawing its troops.

There goes the Ol' Coalition!

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, a close ally and friend of President Bush, said while flying to the United States on Tuesday that he wanted to be sure of "a clear turnaround" in Iraq. His remarks came a day after Italy suffered its first combat loss there.

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